Emily Ray and Katherine Voigt’s collaborative collection, “Collide,” won the Fashion Industries Association Best of Show Award.

The Verizon Philadelphia University Celebration of Innovation’s extraordinary weekend of festivities concluded with the Annual Fashion Show on Sunday, April 27 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

The annual Fashion Show showcased the best of the year’s fabulous, colorful and creative student fashion designs. Talented student designers displayed everything from hand-dyed chambray dresses to Dr. Seuss-inspired garments to a vibrant 10-piece collaborative collection that won best of show.

Philadelphia University posthumously awarded celebrated designer Patrick Kelly with the Legend of Design Award at the event. As a tribute to the late designer, the runway show started with six original student designs inspired by Kelly’s work and messages of love and tolerance.

In 1988, Kelly became the first American and first black designer voted into the prestigious French fashion industry association Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. Kelly, who passed away in January 1990 from complications of AIDS, was known for his bright and bold creations that often pushed racial and cultural boundaries.

Kelly’s longtime former partner Björn Amelan accepted the award on his behalf and told aspiring designers to “remember that the most important thing for you is where you came from, how you express who you are and your imagination combined with your skill.”

In honoring Kelly, PhilaU collaborated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which opened its new exhibition, “Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love,” the same day as the Fashion Show. The exhibit, the first major retrospective of Kelly’s work, will be on display through Nov. 30, 2014. For more information, visit www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/799.html.

NBC10’s Bill Henley and Jillian Mele served, respectively, as Fashion Show emcee and commentator. The enthusiastic audience, who often cheered for their favorite designs, included students, family members, faculty, staff, alumni, apparel and fashion industry executives and honorees. The Fashion Show was produced by members of PhilaU’s Fashion Industries Association.